AUDUBON'S GREATEST TRIUMPH 187 



then known and described, to the number of 491, fifty- 

 two of which were new, Audubon's life and labors in 

 England were brought to a close. 



The introduction to the last volume of his "Biog- 

 raphies" begins as follows: 



How often, Good Reader, I have longed to see the day on 

 which my labours should be brought to an end! Many times, 

 when I had laid myself down in the deepest recesses of the 

 western forests, have I been suddenly awakened by the appari- 

 tion of dismal prospects that have presented themselves to my 

 mind. Now, sickness, methought, had seized me with burning 

 hand, and hurried me away, in spite of all my fond wishes, from 

 those wild woods in which I had so long lingered, to increase 

 my knowledge of the objects which they offered to my view. 

 Poverty, too, at times walked hand in hand with me, and on 

 more than one occasion urged me to cast away my pencils, 

 destroy my drawings, abandon my journals, change my ideas, 

 and return to the world. 



Later on he says: "You may well imagine how happy 

 I am at this moment, when . . . I find my journeys all 

 finished, my anxieties vanished, my mission accom- 

 plished"; and he concludes: "I have pleasure in saying 

 that my enemies have been few, and my friends numer- 

 ous. May the God who granted me life, industry, and 

 perseverance to accomplish my task, forgive the former, 

 and forever bless the latter!" 



Audubon's introductions to the five volumes of his 

 "Biographies," from which we have frequently quoted, 

 are characteristic; in them he cheers his subscribers, calls 

 all his helpers and correspondents by name, and takes 

 the public into -his confidence by recording the acts which 

 marked the steady progress of his work. Frequent ap- 

 peals to the "good" and "gentle reader" have gone out 

 of fashion, but in this instance they seem in keeping with 



